The Trump administration's proposal to expand offshore drilling off the Pacific Northwest coast is drawing vocal opposition in a region where multimillion-dollar fossil fuel projects have been blocked in recent years.

Dozens of protesters rallied in New Hampshire on Monday against a proposal by President Donald Trump's administration to expand offshore drilling, saying it poses a grave threat to the state's marine ecosystem and economy.

Hundreds of environmentalists opposed to the Trump administration proposal to expand offshore drilling in the Atlantic and other ocean waters converged Monday to press their case at the federal government's only public meeting for input in North Carolina.

Petroleum exploration has largely ceased in federal waters off Alaska but an Italian multinational oil and gas company has received permission to move ahead with modest drilling plans on leases sold in 2005.